The Summer of the Ravens
by CrystalEssence
Summary: The passage of time is cruel and unrelenting. There is no protection from it and the twists and turns can often be sudden and unpredictable. Follow Raven Branwen as she makes her way through the dark, doing everything in her power to protect the ones she loves. RavenxSummerxTaiyang. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

_Raven Branwen had always dreamed of having a family. Of being a mother. Of something that would make all the bloodshed worth it at the end of the day. Her twin brother had used to tease her constantly when they were teenagers. Qrow had always been a bit of a loner and never understood her desire to settle down when they were both training to fight monsters for a living._

 _"You'll just set yourself up to get hurt." He would say in his more serious moments. "Hunters' should never get married. I mean, look at what that did to Mom and Dad." Whenever Qrow said this, Raven would simply shrug her shoulders knowing the truth of his statement yet at the same time promising herself that she would be different. Their parents had split up shortly after their twins were born. In fact Raven and Qrow had never met their father and their mother avoided speaking of him._

 _Their mother hadn't been a paragon of virtue either. She drank heavily and would disappear for weeks at a time, taking only the most difficult hunting missions. Only to come home battered and bloody._

 _As a result Raven and Qrow had learned to rely solely on one another and as a result were not quick to make friends with their neighbors. They had applied for and been accepted into Signal academy, where they had excelled and each found an innate talent for weapons crafting and dust manipulation. Qrow with his scythe and Raven with her beloved sword. Each had earned a reputation for being deadly with their perspective weapon of choice._

 _It was an obvious step from there to apply to Beacon academy. The last obstacle in the way of receiving their Huntsman certifications. Raven had never been more nervous nor more excited in her entire life. Then came the day that would forever set the course of Raven's life for good or for ill. Initiation day at Beacon academy._

The freshman gathered at the cliffs just outside Beacon. They were all chatting excitedly about what they thought the initiation would entail. There were many squeals of delight as many of them had grown up together and were excited by the prospect of being on the same team as their friends. Raven however stood off to one side with Qrow, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of her beloved sword _Thurisaz*._ She disliked crowds and it took everything she had not to revert to her avian form and fly away. Qrow placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Easy kiddo, stick to the plan and we'll be back in time for dinner." He said giving her a lopsided grin.

"Just because you are technically five minutes older than me does not mean you can call me kiddo, brother." Raven muttered darkly, rolling her shoulders to make him release his grip.

"Of course it does, it says so right here in the twin bylaws." He mimed patting down his pockets and after a moment he met her eyes with a faux frown. "Hmm, I must have misplaced it. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it baby sister." The last was said with a smirk that was all Qrow. Raven couldn't help the soft smile that touched her lips for a moment. Her brother, while annoying at times, was her best friend and never failed to spot when she was in a state of discomfort.

"I just wish they would get on with it already." She had muttered, her voice wavering. "All this waiting is getting me riled up." As she said this her hand had reflexively gripped and released the hilt of Thurisaz. Qrow grinned and opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by the sound of a shrill whistle.

"First years, please take your positions on your assigned places." A sophisticated feminine voice called out over the crowd. The mass of students moved as one as they rushed to get to their assigned pad. Qrow gave her a wink before melting into the crowd himself. Raven took a deep breath and turned and walked over to her pad.

A few minutes later Raven would be thoroughly convinced that Ozpin was insane. How such a man had become the headmaster of a prestigious academy was beyond her. She had been fine with the whole launching them into the Grimm infested forest to hunt for artifacts idea. They were training to be huntsman after all, if they babied themselves in training they would never be ready for a real fight. What she had not been okay with was the fact the first person that she made eye contact with would be her partner for the next four years. That statement had caused her anxiety to skyrocket, her grip on Thurisaz tightening to the point where it was painful. She and her brother had not planned for such a turn of events.

"Shit." She breathed, casting her gaze down the line of students to her brother. He stood with his arms crossed behind his head and cocky grin in place completely unconcerned. When he noticed her looking he gave her a thumbs up. Raven looked back to her front, at the vast expanse of wilderness in front of her and tried to collect herself as rage and anxiety boiled in her belly. How the hell could he be so nonchalant about this?! It would be fine she reasoned, her semblance should help her to find Qrow rather easily. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, nothing t-

"Hey, are you alright?" came a soft accented voice causing Raven to jump breaking her from her thoughts. Glancing to her left and down she locked eyes with a young woman dressed in a stark white cloak. _Silver eyes, that's not something you see every day_ Raven thought idly, then she realized the girl was patiently waiting for response.

"Oh. Um no- I mean yes. Sorry first day jitters and all." She said coughing awkwardly into her hand. Part of her hoped the girl would sense her discomfort at being approached and would end the contact so she could get back to formulating her plan to meet up with Qrow. Unfortunately this didn't seem like it would be the case. The girl tilted her head, short red hair blowing in the breeze as she gave Raven a measuring look. Suddenly she nodded, seemingly satisfied, and gave Raven a brilliant reassuring smile.

"It's cool, happens to the best of us. On a day like today it's to be expected. I mean I have a case of the jitters myself. It's so exciting though isn't it? Being thrust into the unknown on the first day is a real test of our skills. Are you from Vale perchance?"

Before Raven could answer she felt the pad rumble as the gears began to turn beneath her feet. The woman in white gave her another smile before turning towards the forest. In the next moment Raven felt the wind leave her lungs as she was launched into the brilliant blue sky.

The wind whistled in her ears as she tumbled end over end through the air. Her first thought was to simply transform but she feared that at this velocity the wind resistance alone would shred her wings. _So much for plan A._ She thought with a grimace. _Time for the backup._ Raven pressed down a switch on Thurisaz's sheath, the cylinders packed with a variety of different types of dust sprung to life, spinning until they landed on her desired choice. There was a faint whoosh as the blade was infused with dust and the locking mechanism released. She unsheathed the blade with flourish and sliced the blue white steel through the air in front of her, a wave of ice and snow sprang forth from her slash creating an angled wall of ice that stretched to the forest floor. She landed heavily on the ice and slid down her improvised slide mildly hopping that there wouldn't be any rocks below her.

The slide ended 10 feet above the forest floor. When Raven reached it she flipped in the air and landed in a crouch position. She grimaced as the impact sent a shooting pain up her legs, aura couldn't block everything it would seem. She stayed like that for a moment, than the distinct sounds of clapping reached her ears.

"Nice, you really looked like a super hero or something there, stuck the landing and everything. You know that's really hard on your knees though right? Kind of impractical if you ask me."

Raven shot up and turned to face the source of the voice. Thurisaz poised to strike. Before her sat the small white cloaked girl from before. She sat on a stump surrounded by the disintegrating corpses of several Ursi a rifle of some sort cradled on her lap. She smiled another of those brilliant smiles as she locked eyes with Raven.

"Don't get me wrong though, it was a rather impressive landing. By the way, my names Summer Rose. It's nice to meet you, partner."

Raven felt her heart stop. So much for meeting up with Qrow. So much for not worrying about being partnered with a stranger. Could anything else go wrong today? With a resigned sigh she sheathed her sword, trying to meet Summer's smile with a timid one of her own.

"My name is Raven. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Summer. " Summer snickered and hopping off the log made her way up to Raven with a spring in her step. As she walked she pressed a button on her rifle, the rifle proceeded to break apart and reform itself into two large sized pistols which Summer proceeded to holster in the under arm holsters that she wore on each side.

"I can tell you're going to be lots of fun. C'mon partner daylights wasting and we've got ourselves an artifact to collect. I saw some sort of structure just east of here when I was falling that seems like as good as place as any to start."

With that the white cloaked girl began walking through the thick underbrush. Raven cast a forlorn look to the heavens before making her own way after Summer. _This is going to be a long 4 years._

 _Authors note:_

 _So hi. Haha um well I am definitely not dead. Life got kind of crazy there for a bit and then my muse decided to take a hike and got lost for a few months. I apologize first off for disappearing for so long. It was not my intention to leave all my stories hanging. At the moment I'm reviewing them and seeing if I have the desire to return to any of them or if they'll be discontinued. I know, I hate when that happens too, but sometimes you just hit burnout on a story and you just hit a wall._

 _I had the idea for this story a while back and have seen it done various ways. I really wanted to explore what each character from team STRQ was like and especially focus on what might have made Yang's mom leave her. I kind of shelfed it until after I saw the finale for volume 3(What a rollercoaster that was am I right?) and I suddenly got the urge to sit down and write this. Anyway I hope you enjoyed, leave a favorite/ follow or leave me a review to let me know if you are interested in reading more?_

 _This is also going to be really ooc and au at times. Especially with Raven and Summer concerning what we know about them is pretty minimalistic. On that note I am completely guessing when it comes to Summer's weapon. So I decided to make it the fabled gun gun._

 _Please leave me any thoughts you might have and thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. Love and Light ^_^ - Crystal_

 _*Thurisaz: I took the name that I gave to Raven's weapon from the rune of the same name. I really like the idea that each characters weapon reflects their personality and the way they fight. Among other things Thurisaz is linked with righteous anger, and protecting what you cherish._

 _p.s Did you spot the Deadpool reference? I'm a little too proud of it._


	2. Chapter 2

_*Raven*_

Today was shaping up to be amongst one of the most stressful days in Raven Branwen's short life. In a matter of just a few minutes she had been separated from her brother, launched into the air for no real reason other than the headmaster being a sadistic bastard, and now she was partnered with some girl, who would just. Not. Stop. Talking.

As they made their way through the dense forest, the redheaded woman droned on and on about anything and everything as she skipped along the path. Her name was Summer Rose, she was 18 years old, had been born and raised in Mistral by her grandparents, and she had always dreamed of attending Beacon Academy. Apparently due to some complications, which thankfully was the one thing the girl didn't elaborate on, she had been unable to apply to Beacon until this year.

While viewing herself as more patient than her brother, Raven had long since begun to feel the thread of her patience unravel, stretching and bending until it felt as if it were about to snap in two. Her frustration had begun to bubble into anger her hand clenching subconsciously around Thurisaz's hilt as she trailed behind the other girl.

Still, not wanting to start this partnership off on the wrong foot, she tried to keep her replies short and what she hoped sounded like friendly. At the same time, Raven spent her remaining energy avoiding most questions Summer shot her way. The bubbly girl may have been open about seemingly everything under the sun but Raven was most certainly not.

The sun, which had been low in the east at the start of initiation, now hung high in the sky. It's heat bore down on the pair as they continued their trek through the forest. The humidity continued rising with each passing hour, causing the journey to become far more arduous. Then, just after noon, the pair stumbled upon a wide clearing.

The first thing they both noticed was a large river, which ran through the center of the clearing. This was to their mutual relief as their canteens were nearing empty. Across the river, directly opposite from them, was a large cliff which rose high into the air. The rest of the clearing was bordered on all sides by thick forest vegetation. Raven felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she glanced at Summer, who looked at the wall with annoyance clear in her eyes.

"Let me guess, what you saw is up there." The taller woman remarked, her voice carrying resignation for the answer she knew was coming. Summer cast a hand through her disheveled hair, knocking her hood off in the process, and closed her eyes as she let loose a groan. Finally, she nodded.

Raven looked back at the cliff and tried to think, on one hand she could easily transform into her avian form and reach the top in seconds, however on the other hand that would mean leaving Summer behind and as much as the girl had tested her patience, Raven was not keen on the idea of leaving her partner to fend for herself. Beyond that, who knew what kind of trap (read: sadistic machination) Ozpin may have set at the ruins. No, she decided, they would have to find a way up together. She was about to suggest they sit down and brainstorm idea's when Summer let loose an excited gasp and grabbed her arm, startling the other girl.

"Raven, take a look at the cliff face!" she exclaimed, pointing with her free hand towards the cliff face. Raven was about to ask what the hell she was on about when she noticed it. Raven did as the girl suggested and at first saw nothing but sleet grey rock rising into the sky. But upon closer inspection began to notice that part of the rock seem to jut out, just a bit, forming a series of handholds that ran up the cliff face.

"I see it." She muttered more to herself than to Summer.

"Looks like that's going to be our ticket up." Summer said excitedly. The red head turned her gaze to the clearing around them, pointing to the river before them she continued. "Let's fill our canteens and take a short break, then we can start climbing."

Raven mildly wondered who had died and made this girl queen but after taking a breath she calmed herself. She could almost hear her brother's voice in her head telling her to _'Play nice'_ This girl hadn't done anything wrong. Raven was just tired and a little bit annoyed.

She nodded in Summer's direction and the pair carefully approached the river. Once it appeared that there was no immediate threat, via lurking Grimm or Ozpin, they both visibly relaxed somewhat. Raven motioned that she would take an over watch position on a large boulder that sat next to the river while Summer went about filling the canteens. Unclipping her canteen from her belt and handing it to the girl, Raven turned and quickly made her way over to the boulder and scrambled atop it. Once there she placed a hand on Thurisaz's hilt and began scanning the edges of the clearing for activity.

A soft breeze began to sweep through the clearing, causing the trees to sway slightly. Raven allowed a small smile to grace her lips and did her best to enjoy the refreshing breeze. Movement from below her drew her focus and she found her gaze being drawn away from the edges of the clearing and towards her partner.

The older girl had removed her cloak and was presently kneeling down at the edge of the river. She wore a dark corset with a combat skirt and dark colored tights. Raven watched as the red headed woman cupped her hands and dipped them into the shimmering water. Summer then proceeded to splash the water in her face, letting out a soft sigh of relief as she did so, she ran her hands over her face and through her hair. Summer opened her eyes and her silver gaze locked with Raven's crimson. The girl blushed slightly and waved at Raven sheepishly.

Raven felt heat touch her own face as she raised her own hand to awkwardly return the wave. Then, she saw Summer's eyes shift from bubbling warmth to cold steel with the gaze now focused on something over Raven's shoulder. Raven felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up straight as a chill ran down her spine.

"Raven look out!" Summer called out as she reached for her weapon holsters.

Raven shifted her grip on Thurisaz's hilt and moved to draw the blade as she turned to face the unknown danger. Before she could bring the blade to bear, sharp talons sliced along her shoulder and she thrown off the boulder by the force of the Grimm colliding into her.

A terrible shriek echoed across the sky followed by the sound of Summer's pistols firing in quick succession. Raven tumbled through the air, sharp, burning pain erupting along her shoulder and down her back. She was dimly aware of Summer crying out to her one more time before she hit the freezing water below.

 _*Tai-Yang*_

Hurtling through the sky at high velocity had not been how Tai-Yang Xiao Long had imagined starting his career as a huntsman. He had assumed that once on the cliff, Ozpin might send the freshmen out into the forest to kill Grimm as a test of their skill. But he had expected for the headmaster to instruct them to find their way down the cliff by whatever means necessary, though, he supposed this wasn't much different than that, just with the added twist of forced ascension.

He grit his teeth as he activated the blades on the end of his knuckle dusters. Outstretching his arms, he channeled his aura into the length of his limbs, praying silently that it would be enough to keep him from shattering his bones on impact. This could literally be the stupidest idea he'd come up with but at the moment it wasn't really like he had another option.

Thrusting his right hand out him caught the bark of a passing tree. His body was flung to the right as his momentum was suddenly halted. Tai-Yang took this opportunity to shove the other blade deep into the tree, halting him completely, at least for a second. The tree, weaker than it appeared and unprepared for the new weight and damage done by the blades, swayed violently for a moment then there came the very loud and very heart stopping sound of a serious of snaps and a great cracking rumble that traveled up the length of the tree. Tai-Yang paled and tightened his grip instinctively.

"Oh-shi- aaaahhhhhhh!" he exclaimed as the tree began to fall, snapped in half by the force of his _landing._ He tried to pry the blades lose but to no avail, they had driven too deeply into the wood. Tai could do little more than hold on for dear life and pray the tree didn't land on him. As the thing toppled to the ground. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He could do something, he could scream. Which he did, as loudly and with as many curses as he could think of.

' _Great going Tai, killed on your first day at Beacon. Not by a creature of Grimm, no that would have been too easy. You get felled by the mightiest foe around, the everyday forest tree_

The tree twisted as it fell, spinning Tai-Yang violently around until suddenly it jerked to a stop with such force that Tai's blades were ripped from the trunk, which also resulted in Tai being thrown unceremoniously to the ground which was about 10 feet below. He hit the hard packed dirt and felt the air rush out of him.

"Wow, was pretty fancy landing there, cowboy."

Groaning, Tai opened a single eye to stare up at a boy that seemed about his age with jet black hair, a large sword strapped across his back, staring down at him. Blood-red eyes glinted with amusement as he stared down at Tai, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"You…should see me on a good day." He groaned out as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"I am sure you're the scourge of trees everywhere. Though most people tend to use an axe when cutting down those wooden beasts."

"See, that's what the trees are expecting. They are smart little buggers, you've got to get creative with them."

"Well, you're definitely that." The black haired boy said with a chuckle as he extended a hand to Tai. "Names Qrow Branwen, guess this means we are partners cowboy."

Tai took his hand and Qrow helped him to his feet. "Nice to meet you, my names Tai-Yang Xiao Long."

"Christ that's a mouthful." Qrow said, making a face that made Tai laugh.

"Yeah, most people just call me Tai."

"Well then, Tai, let's get going. I think I saw some sort of structure off that direction." He said waving a hand in a southeastern-ish direction. "Saw a lot of Grimm too, my bet? That's exactly where we are heading."

With a course set the pair began to trek through the Emerald forest at an even pace. Along the way they encountered several lower level Grimm, the odd Beowulf or two but beyond that the journey proceeded without much incident. That was until they heard the sounds of gunfire and the telltale growls of a large group of Grimm ahead of them. They glanced at one another, hands automatically resting on the hilts of their weapons.

"Sounds like we are a little late to the party." Tai said as he extended the blades on his knuckle dusters. Qrow grinned at him as he removed his sword from the small of his back and set it to rest upon his shoulder.

"Better to be fashionably late than awkwardly early. How about we go see if those Grimm are willing to take on a few more party guests. Hell we ca-"

"Raven, look out!"

Qrow's sentence caught in his throat as the shout echoed across the forest. His face paled, his eyes widened, and before Tai could say anything the black haired boy was off, running at a breakneck pace towards the source of the shout. Tai stood, staring after his companion, confused as to the sudden change in his demeanor. Shrugging it off, Tai took off after Qrow.


End file.
